With playoff places still up for grabs, the NFL Week 14 schedule offers among the most competitive slate of games so far, according to TheLines.com, which tracks odds in the US regulated sports betting market.
A consensus of the nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks including DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, PlaySugarHouse, BetMGM, Unibet, and William Hill, have 15 of the 16 games on this week’s schedule feature point spreads of 7.5 points or less.
One team that bucks the trend this week though is the Seattle Seahawks, who entered this week as 13.5-point favorites over the winless New York Jets. However, the Seahawks are not a lock to win, as they suffered a 17-12 upset loss to the New York Giants last time out.
In fact, while favorites of 13.5 points or more have overwhelmingly won their games straight up since 2010, against the spread they are just 47-56-1.
Even though the 0-12 Jets have found themselves big underdogs in almost every game this season, they are just 4-8 against the spread so far this season. At 2-9, only the Dallas Cowboys have been worse against the spread.
On the flip side, the Miami Dolphins enter Week 14 with the league’s best record against the spread at 9-3. That could be a good sign as they enter the week as 7.5-point underdogs to the reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs.
Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com, said: “Wide point spreads draw a lot of attention, but with all that goes on in an NFL game, they can produce unpredictable results. However, with 13 weeks of data to draw from, oddsmakers know well these teams and their tendencies. So, we’re seeing closer agreement on the lines themselves.”
The consensus point spreads for Week 14 and the remaining Week 13 game, as of Monday, Dec. 7:
- Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens (-8.5); over/under 45
- New England Patriots at Los Angeles Rams (-6.5); over/under 44.5
- Arizona Cardinals (-2.5) at New York Giants; over/under N/A
- Dallas Cowboys (-3.5) at Cincinnati Bengals; over/under N/A
- Denver Broncos at Carolina Panthers (-3.5); over/under N/A
- Green Bay Packers (-7.5) at Detroit Lions; over/under 55.5
- Houston Texans (-1.5) at Chicago Bears; over/under 45.5
- Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5) at Miami Dolphins; over/under 49
- Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6.5); over/under 52.5
- Tennessee Titans (-7.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars; over/under 53.5
- Indianapolis Colts (-3) at Las Vegas Raiders; over/under 51.5
- New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks (-13.5); over/under 47.5
- Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) at Los Angeles Chargers; over/under 49.5
- New Orleans Saints (-7) at Philadelphia Eagles; over/under 45.5
- Washington Football Team at San Francisco 49ers (-5.5); over/under N/A
- Pittsburgh Steelers (-2.5) at Buffalo Bills; over/under N/A
- Baltimore Ravens (-1.5) at Cleveland Browns; over/under N/A